This application seeks renewal of the highly successful Molecular Biophysics Predoctoral Training Grant Program at Columbia University. Training for students in the Program is performed in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center and the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry on the Arts and Sciences campus of Columbia University. The Program provides a rich and diverse environment in which students apply a host of biophysical approaches to the investigation of important biological problems. The Program emphasizes the application of state-of-the-art biophysical techniques to provide trenchant answers to detailed, specific questions while at the same time it endeavors to expose the trainees to a vast array of biological processes and to fertile areas of future research. The Training Program consists of exceptional laboratories housed in three departments and outstanding facilities located on the two campuses; seminars in biophysics given by outstanding visiting speakers; a biophysics retreat where trainees present their research to students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty in the Program; and a core, year-long biophysics course. Over the past five years since the last competitive renewal, the Training Program has made important strides in several critical areas: (i) three underrepresented minority students in the Program completed doctoral training and received the Ph.D.,(ii) the number of underrepresented minority students currently in the Program matches the all-time high of five, and (iii) several new trainers have been brought into the Program. In the coming five-year period, the Program will continue to (i) reinforce ties between participating laboratories, departments and campuses,(ii) improve the recruitment of all students, with an emphasis on underrepresented minority students, (iii)recruit additional talented faculty, and (iv) strengthen and update the pedagogical component of the program. The past historical successes and anticipated future achievements in the next funding period of the Molecular Biophysics Training Grant Program at Columbia will maintain this Program as a flagship for education and training of graduate students in New York City. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]